Habs Prospect Scores Beautiful Goal in KHL Preseason

What I already knew about Zharovsky was that he had great hands, so the move in front of the net didn’t surprise me, but this was the first time I truly watched him win a puck battle in the corner. Given his 163 LBS frame, I thought that he may lack strength in the corner, but he seems to still be strong enough to hold off bigger guys. 

That whole scenario truly looked like he was on a mission, and nobody was going to stop him from getting that beautiful goal. The Canadiens really did their homework before the draft on this player, as he has the potential to be a monster on the puck when he gains the 20 LBS he needs before he’s ready to transition to the NHL. Not only did they get a skilled winger, but they got a battler in Zharovsky. 

It may only be the preseason, but I do believe that the signs of brilliance we are seeing from the young Russian forward throughout his first two preseason games are telling me that he can be an NHLer someday.  The Montreal Canadiens scouts may have found yet another steal in the draft, which seems to feel more common than ever with the new regime.

There is no question that Zharovsky has the skill of a 1st Round talent, but the questions were definitely whether or not he could come over to North America and also if he has the work ethic to combine with that skill. Given his friendship with Habs rookie Ivan Demidov, it feels like he would be more inclined to play in Montreal than elsewhere in the league. Although he seems like a good kid with a good head on his shoulders as his work ethic seems to be a very important aspect of his game. Zharovsky is still very raw, and it can be scary developing raw talent like this if you don’t have the right development team, but the Canadiens seem to have the right guys around the team. 

In some ways, Zharovsky’s skill reminds me of Nikita Scherbak, with the skill coming out of his draft year, but the difference is Zharovsky looks better in the dirty areas, as well as a better overall development team around him this time around. Sure, Scherbak is to blame for not working out with a questionable work ethic in the pros, but he was also a prospect during an era where players weren’t being developed properly. 

The truth is, when I think of the Habs development team, it makes me feel at ease because with guys like Paul Byron, Adam Nicholas, Pascal Vincent, among others, I think they will be able to get the best out of Zharovsky to the point where he can be a top 6 forward and become what many of us thought Scherbak could be. 

Do you see Zharovsky panning out into an NHLer under the Canadiens’ current development team?